


Sleeplessness

by cfo_absolute



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Gen, Happy Ending, Kinda, Light Angst, Nonbinary Character, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-13 11:06:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10512498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cfo_absolute/pseuds/cfo_absolute
Summary: Kim can't sleep anymore and Trini understands.They've been falling toward each other the entire time without realizing it. But can they handle the responsibilities of being a Ranger along with everything else?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> They're not in a relationship, yet. But they will be if I decide to continue this.
> 
> I've got this headcanon that Trini is such a sarcastic, borderline mean smol little shit to everyone except Kim. With Kim, she's soft and gentle and totally in love. But she'll fight you if you try to call her out on it.

The first night after everything, after defeating Rita, after almost being crushed to death in a fiery pit where a Krispy Kreme used to be, after all of that… Kim can't sleep. Hell, she can't even sit still. At first she thinks it’s just the adrenaline. She’s too pumped from the fight, from saving the world to be calm and relax. But the nights carry on and pretty soon Kim hasn’t slept in days. Or weeks. She doesn’t really know. The one thing she does know is that every time she closes her eyes she’s choking. She’s back in the Zord, the metal rattling and folding in around her moments before tumbling into the pit and being engulfed in flames. 

She had survived, of course. They had all survived. They had made it through and saved the day, saved the world, but Kim just can’t shake the feeling of the helplessness, of the panic that had shot through her chest as she had gasped for air. 

It’s two weeks later and Kim still wakes up panting in the middle of the night. She’s drenched in sweat. She doesn’t know why, but she grabs for her phone and it’s dialing before she’s completely awake.

“What’s up, K?” A groggy voice crackles through the phone’s speaker. 

It takes Kim a moment to realize who she’s called. “Shit, Trini. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“Nah. I don’t really sleep much. What’s going on?”

Kim chews her lip, an internal debate on whether or not she should tell Trini the truth raging. She doesn’t notice how long she’s been quiet until Trini speaks again.

“Kim, you okay?” There’s a rustling sound as Trini sits up and her blankets shift against the phone.

“I, uh…” Kim runs a shaky hand through her hair, struggling to get a full breath. She doesn't mean to be silent. She's trying to force the words out. She's trying to be honest, but her lips, her lungs just won't cooperate. 

“I'll be there in 5.”

Kim doesn't know if she should feel relieved or not, but she does. 

And sure enough, 4 minutes and 30 seconds later Kim hears a soft knocking at her window and looks up to see Trini’s wide eyes staring back at her. She gets up slowly, her legs uncharacteristically unsteady beneath her, and opens her window. 

Trini hops in, landing silently on the carpet of Kim’s bedroom floor. Her first instinct is to reach out...but she stops herself. She’s got this thing for Kim, this thing that she’s admitted to herself and no one else and it’s the reason that every inch of her is aching to wrap Kim up in her arms. But Kim is trembling ever so slightly and she's keeping her distance so Trini settles for words instead. 

“You can't sleep either?” She asks gently. 

Kim just shakes her head. 

Trini folds herself up on the edge of Kim’s bed. She's close enough to touch her if she needs to, but far enough away to let Kim make that decision herself. “When's the last time you slept?” 

Kim shrugs. “A few days ago. I'm not really sure.” Her voice is quiet. If Trini wasn't leaning in she might not have caught the words at all. “I, um… I have trouble keeping my eyes closed.”

“You know, I haven't been able to sleep either.” Trini says softly. “Ever since that crazy bitch broke into my house and practically strangled me to death.” She means Rita, when Rita broke into her house and threatened her life and her team and left bruises that she can still feel underneath her clothes… but they both know that. “Every time I close my eyes I can still feel her disgusting breath on my face.” Trini’s not sure when she became such an over-sharer, but she needs Kim to know she's not alone. 

“I can't breathe.” Kim admits. She’s talking now, but she can’t bring herself to look Trini. “When I close my eyes, I can't breathe. That moment- when we fell in the pit? I was choking and I was so sure we were gonna die.”

Trini can't keep her hands to herself any more, not when Kim is falling apart right in front of her. She takes Kim's face, gently, in her hands and brings it up to meet hers. “But we didn't.”

“But what if we did?” Kim asks. Her lip is trembling now and it is taking every ounce of Ranger strength not to break, not to crumble against Trini’s soft touch and fall apart completely. “I was the first one down, Trin. I couldn't hold the line.”

Trini’s shaking her head now because “No, hey, look at me, Kim.” She tilts Kim's face up a little more. “You don't get to blame yourself, okay? We're all still here. You’re still here.” 

There's no stopping the tears now. Kim is sobbing and she can't help it because she's been refusing to admit this, but the gentleness of Trini's hands on her face is just enough safety to let herself go and God, how is it possible for her to feel like this? “T, I can't breathe.” She sobs. 

And that's enough for Trini. She pulls Kim completely into her arms, lifting her head to tuck Kim’s underneath. “It's okay.” She tightens her grip on the trembling girl like that can push out the pain, the guilt she's feeling. Trini knows it can't, but good god if she's not gonna try. “You're okay. I've got you.” 

Kim digs her fingers into Trini’s sweater. 

“Do you want me to stay?”

Kim nods, not trusting her words. 

Trini pulls them further up the bed and lays on her back, letting Kim burrow deeper into her chest. She lets go, only for a moment, to reach down and pull Kim's blankets over them both. Within minutes Kim's sobs have subsided into deep breaths and Trini knows she's asleep. And Trini, in an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed, but very familiar arms, isn't far behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning.

Kim wakes up the next morning feeling warm and rested and comfortable and-  _ wait.   _

 

There's an arm draped across her stomach. An arm that's attached to a body that's curled into Kim's back. An arm that belongs to Trini. 

 

Kim's body tenses as she remembers the night before. She remembers waking up drenched in sweat, again. She remembers calling Trini and Trini showing up at her window. She remembers sobbing into Trini's chest while Trini held her. And she immediately flushes red with embarrassment. 

 

Kim tries to slide out of the bed without disturbing the girl sleeping beside her, but she is wildly  unsuccessful. Every movement she makes is punctuated by Trini’s arm tightening around her waist. 

 

“Stop moving so much.” Comes a grumble from the ball of tousled hair behind her. 

 

Kim stills again because fuck, she definitely did not want Trini to wake up. 

 

“Go back to sleep.”

 

“You didn't have to stay the whole night, you know.” Kim whispers, trying not to think about how attractive the gravely tone in Trini’s voice is.

 

“Yeah, I did.” Comes the reply. “You think I was gonna run all the way across town twice in one night?”

 

Kim shakes with a silent laugh before taking her chances and rolling over to face the girl who had spent the night sharing her bed. And she almost regrets it because as soon as she does she's hit with the vision that is Sleepy Trini: dark eyes half open, hair perfectly tousled, her lips drawn together in a lazy smirk. And it just about knocks the breath out of her. Kim knew she had been nursing a bit of a crush on her friend, but… Shit. 

 

“What?” Trini asks, her eyes are open just enough to see Kim staring at her. And it's making her nervous. That's not the right word, actually. It's making her stomach to acrobatics that she didn't even think were possible. But she tries her best to play it off as mild annoyance. 

 

Spurred on by the honesty from the night before or by her raging hormones or by sheer stupidity Kim says “You're so beautiful.”

 

If Trini's stomach was doing acrobatics before it's doing full on Olympic level gymnastics now. Trini is not used to getting compliments and she's  _ certainly  _ not used to getting them from girls who look like Kim. “Um… thanks.” She says, awkwardly. Rather than try to come up with another, valid, not entirely idiotic response, Trini sits up and reaches for her shoes.

 

“You’re leaving?” Kim asks, sitting up. She groans internally at how absolutely desperate her voice sounds. 

 

As much as Trini does  _ want _ to leave, as much as she wants to stay underneath Kim’s insanely cozy comforter and pretend like there’s a chance that Kim actually wants her… She stands up to leave. “Uh, yeah. My mom’ll flip if I’m not there when she wakes up.” That’s not entirely true. Trini’s mom tried to wake her up for school once and that did not go well for either party. Ever since they had had a silent agreement that Trini could and would get up on her own in time for school.

 

Oh, shit. Speaking of parents, Kim hadn’t even thought of hers. She strains her hearing for a moment, listening for any indication that her parents are awake. To her relief she hears none. 

 

“I’ll um… I’ll see you at school?” Trini asks.

 

Before Kim can nod her affirmation Trini is already out her window and scaling down the side of the house. Kim falls back into her bed with another groan, this one out loud. This was  _ not _ how she had wanted to start her morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up for the slowest of burns between these two insecure, smushy superheroes. 
> 
> This chap it super short, but I'll be posting longer ones in the near future!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the next day. Trini is reeeeally bad at processing her emotions.

When Zack slides onto the bench next to her at lunch it takes just about every ounce of willpower Trini has not to push him off onto the floor. 

_ Please don’t. Please don’t. Please don’t. _

“What’s going on with you, Crazy Girl?”

_ Damn it. _ “Nothing.” Trini winces slightly because that sounded nowhere near convincing. “Nothing. I’m fine.’

Zack’s eyes narrow in disbelief and suspicion because he’s pretty, but he’s not  _ stupid _ , okay? “Oh yeah? Because it looks like you’ve been avoiding us all day.”

“I’m not avoiding you guys.” Trini huffs. Again, not that believable. 

“You jumped out the gym window when Jason tried to hay hi to you earlier.” Zack replies, stealing a chip out of the bag in front of Trini. He somehow manages to keep his face serious, but he can’t keep the amusement out of his eyes. 

Trini rolls her eyes and shoves a handful of chips into her mouth to keep herself from saying something incredibly stupid. Or incriminating. Because she did in fact jump out of a window earlier to avoid talking to Jason because Jason somehow always  _ knows _ and it’s fucking annoying. The last thing Trini wants or needs is the relentless teasing that she’ll get when the guys (mostly Zack) when they find out that she’s incapable of handling her stupid, teenage hormone-induced, incredibly gay emotions. 

After a moment Zack gives in and stands up from the table.  “Alright. I get it, T. Just don’t be late for training.”

 

*****

 

Training doesn’t go much better. Trini debates on whether or not she should go at all, but decides that would be too suspicious (as if the way she she had been acting all day wasn’t enough of a red flag) and would probably end with four Rangers standing on her front porch, including a pink-clad brunette that Trini was doing her goddamn hardest not to think about. Trini’s trying her best not to think about how soft that certain Ranger’s skin is, how comfortably their bodies had fit together the night before, how she’d been able to feel muscles rippling beneath-

_ Fuck! _

Trini is pulled from her decidedly  _ not _ PG daydream by a swift kick to the face and a disgusting combination of blood and dirt in her mouth as she hits the floor of The Pit.

“Shit! Trini, are you okay?” Jason asks as he hold out a hand to help her up.

“Kick hard much?” Trini scowls as she wipes blood away from the corner of her mouth. She wants to be mad, she knows it was her fault.

And Jason knows too. “Well, you normally dodge my kicks so…” He looks at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation for this and, presumably, for her bizarre behavior over the course of the day.

Trini looks up to see that the rest of the team is staring at her with similar looks. Zack, even Billy is looking at her in confusion, and  _ Kim _ .

_ No thanks _ . “Let’s go again.” Trini says instead of explaining herself. She throws in a challenge for good measure. “Good luck landing that kick again.”

Trini makes it through the rest of training without further incident and makes her escape as soon as possible. Soon she’s home.  _ I’m fine, Mom. No one hit me. I fell. _ (Which is partially true.) 

Trini spends the rest of the night hiding in her room, ignoring the near constant buzzing from her phone. Part of her feels bad for ignoring her friends. They’re obviously worried about her, but that’s not something she’s used to. Having people who genuinely  _ care _ about her and want her around isn’t something she’s used to. It’s overwhelming. So Trini just goes back to doing what she does best: Avoiding.

It’s not until Trini picks up her phone to change the music that’s playing and her eye catches a message from Kim does she finally crack.

 

**From: Queen of Harts (2:35am)**

**T, I know youre having a rough day but I can’t sleep. Come over? You dont have to talk if you dont want to. Promise.**

 

Trini hates herself for how quickly she’s dressed and headed across town.

 

*****

 

Kim breathes a sigh of relief when she hears a soft tapping on her window. “I wasn’t sure you were gonna come.” She says as she opens the window, letting the shorter girl into her room. “You didn’t respond to my text.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Trini mumbles. Shit. She’s not trying to be an asshole, but she honestly doesn’t trust anything that’s about to come out of her mouth. She doesn’t trust her stupid, gay brain to keep its thoughts to itself. Now is definitely  _ not _ the time to tell her best friend that she’s been falling for her since they took off together that night at the mine.

“I know I said you didn’t have to talk, but…” Kim shifts nervously as she watches Trini kick her shoes off and sit in the edge of her bed. “I just have to ask… Did I- Did I do something wrong last night? Is that why you’ve been avoiding me- er, us today?”

Now Trini really feels like an asshole. She can’t even face Kim as she answers. “No, I’m just…” She can’t even begin to explain what’s going on. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She settles for that response because at least that’s true. Kim didn’t do anything wrong. Kim is perfect. And Trini is… Well, Trini is Trini: broken and would be scared of her own shadow if it was holding any emotion other than bitterness. 

The response satisfies Kim, for now. It satisfies her enough to climb into her bed next to Trini and pull the covers over them, but she can’t help but notice that Trini won’t touch her. Trini doesn’t wrap her arms around her the way she had the night before. As much as she wants to Kim doesn’t push it. She promised she wouldn’t. At least Trini is here, next to her. Kim let’s that be enough as she drifts off to sleep.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please suffer through this with me. I love my tiny, emotionally stunted child. But she's trying okay?
> 
> Let me know what you think! Catch me on tumblr @cfo-absolute
> 
> Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These girls really need to learn how to use their words... Enjoy the awkwardness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I posted this from my phone so if it looks funny, that's why.

It becomes a routine, Kim and Trini’s sleepovers. So much so that Trini actually starts telling her parents where she’s going, leaving the house at a normal hour, and even using Kim’s front door instead of her bedroom window. Trini’s parents didn’t really question it because she’s been talking a lot more lately, she’s been happier. They were just relieved that their daughter was finally communicating in something in other than sarcastic sentence fragments.

  
As the nights continued, Trini began to relax. Kim kept her promise not to push and Trini was beyond grateful. But Kim was still curious and worried and the boys were… confused. Still, Kim made them swear not to hassle Trini about it because if Kim made a promise then they all had to keep it, damn it.

  
Another two weeks passes before Kim is even tempted to. After a particularly brutal day of training Kim and Trini finally make it back to Kim’s house, which is empty, thank god, because Kim did not want to have to explain their current appearance to her parents.

  
“I’m pretty sure I have mud in my ass crack.” Trini says, flopping onto Kim’s bed with a pained groan.

  
“And you’re getting it all over my bed now. Thanks.” Kim replies, her voice flat, but laced with humor. “Go shower before you track mud all over my room.”

  
Trini mumbles something in Spanish that Kim is pretty sure is an insult before sitting up to pull off her shirt. Except she stops halfway when her shoulders pop, pain spreading through the joints. “Ow! Um.. A little help here?”

  
Kim turns back around with a question on her lips.

  
“Can you just like, pull it the rest of the way over?” Trini asks. Her voice is slightly muffled by the fact that her shirt is pulled halfway over her face.

  
Kim nearly doubles over in laughter as she realizes that badass Trini (who spent the better part of training heckling Kim, mind you) is actually, truly stuck in her shirt. She automatically moves to help Trini, gently guiding the fabric over her shoulders and over her head.

  
And it’s fine. Kim is in her room, undressing her ridiculously gorgeous crush, but it’s fine.

  
Kim’s fingers brush against Trini’s neck as she pulls the shirt off and Trini can’t hold back a shiver. She can’t hold back the goosebumps that appear in the wake of Kim’s fingers either.

  
“Better?” Kim asks, more like croaks, but whatever. Her throat is dry, like bone dry because the sight of Trini sitting on her bed in nothing but shorts and a sports bra is the definition of better.

  
“Uh, yeah…” Trini’s cheeks are on fire. She doesn’t even notice the look that Kim is giving her. She’s too busy looking anywhere else because she knows her eyes will give her away. “I, um… I don’t think I can get my sports bra off though.

  
Fuck.

  
Kim freezes and Trini assumes that she’s made the other girl uncomfortable so she stutters, “It’s fine. It’s okay. I can like, wash around it… Or something.” She cringes because here we go again. “It’s okay, really.”

  
“That would be stupid.” Kim manages. She knows she’s blushing as well, but she can’t imagine why Trini is unless she’s uncomfortable or unless she’s- Oh… OH. “N-no. I can just… um, if you wanna just turn around I can, you know…” God, getting pummeled by a thousand putties would be less painful than this.

  
Without a word Trini stands and faces away from Kim, ducking her head to keep the growing tint of her cheeks hidden. And it hurts. The process of pulling her bra off and the feeling of Kim’s eyes burning into the now bare skin of her back. Trini is relieved when the bathroom door closes behind her and she lets out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

 

*****

 

In her own (completely separate) shower, Kim's mind is raging. She is trying (desperately) not to think about the curve of Trini’s back, the way her muscles had flexed underneath her skin. Kim is trying not to think about the urge she had felt to reach out and run her nails across Trini’s bare shoulders. She’s trying, really. And she’s failing. Miserably.

She’s a Ranger, goddamn it. She should be capable of controlling her stupid, over-eager, over-active emotions.

  
So Kim stays in the shower until she can get a grip and until the water runs cold. When she comes out Trini is already passed out on the bed. She’s wearing one of Kim’s old cheer shirts. It’s way too big for her and Kim smiles. Just when she thought Trini couldn’t get any cuter, any more beautiful…Fuck. It’s gonna be a long night.

 

*****

 

“Zack, we need to talk.” Trini doesn't bother to wait for a response before yanking him by the arm into an empty classroom.

  
“Jesus, Crazy Girl. Easy on the shoulder.” Zack frowns and rubs at the joint. “I'm still sore from your take down the other day.”

  
Trini just rolls her eyes. “Don't be such a baby. I need to tell you something and I swear to god if you laugh your shoulder won't be the only thing that's sore.”

  
A witty retort dies on Zack’s tongue because he can tell by the look on Trini's face that she is dead serious and he decides he would like to keep his body in one piece, thank you very much. So he settles for a nod in understanding.

  
Trini takes a moment to breathe (actually breathe, not the weird halfway to hyperventilating thing that she's currently doing) before she speaks. “I think I have feelings for Kim.”

  
And Zack can't help it. He erupts in laughter. His eyes are clamped shut so he doesn't see Trini's fist coming as it connects with his ribs. Hard. “Ow! Okay, okay…” He throws his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. It’s just-” He pauses to wipe a laughter-induced tear from his cheek. “The way you grabbed me, I thought it was something serious.”

  
“This is serious, you dick!” Trini punctuates her statement with another body shot.

  
“Okay!” Zack brings his arms in to shield his body because Crazy Girl might be tiny, but the pain he feels radiating across his midsection is not. “But it’s kind of obvious.”

  
Trini considers hitting him again, but covers her face instead. “It is really?” She groans.

  
Zack props himself up against a desk and grins. “To anyone with eyes? Yes. The way you guys look at each other is like…” He imitates an explosion with his hands.

  
This time Trini really wants to hit him. But she doesn’t because “Wait. You think she’s into me too?”

  
For a moment Zack’s eyes bulge out of his head because Trini must be blind if she doesn’t see all the looks Kim throws her way. “Yes, T. She is definitely into you.” He can tell that Trini doesn't quite believe him so he continues. “It's gross. She's constantly staring at you with these goofy heart eyes.”

  
“Taylor if you are fucking with me I swear to Zordon, I will put you through this window.” Trini's voice is firm and threatening, but the spark of hope that ignites in her eyes gives her away.

  
Zack gasps and puts a hand to his chest in faux-offense. “I would never!” He grins at the small, skeptical smile Trini gives him in response. “But in all seriousness, just tell her how you feel.”

  
Trini just shrugs because that sounds way easier said than done.

 

Zack walks exactly fifteen steps before his arm is being yanked on again. He can’t see who it is at first, but he does know that he’s now in a custodial closet so he just assumes. “Trini, what the hell?”

  
“What? Trini? No.” The light bulb on the ceiling flickers on to reveal another brunette who is definitely not Trini. “Why would Trini be pulling you into a closet?”

  
Zack almost (almost) laughs out loud because no, Trini wasn’t the one to pull him into the closet. It’s Kim. “No reason that I can think of.” He replies with a shit-eating grin. “What’s up, Kimberly?”

  
“I need to talk to you about something.” Kim says. “And you better not laugh.”

  
This time Zack can’t help but chuckle a bit. Deja vu, much?

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd also like to say that I in no way want to whitewash either of these girls. If their cultures don't come into play much in my writing it's only because I don't know much about either don't want to portray that aspect incorrectly. I'm working on it, though. 
> 
> I'm always open for all kinds of suggestions/criticism (unless you're just being mean. Please don't be mean) 
> 
> Thanks for hanging on with me so far! Let me know what you think!
> 
> Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kim works on her communication skills and Trini freaks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edited this while doing my cardio at the gym so it is very possible there are still many, many mistakes littered through this chapter. If so, I am very sorry.

Zack had been… mildly helpful. Kim finds herself slightly less terrified as she makes her way down the hall to Trini’s locker. She had let a few days pass after her conversation with Zack. She tells herself it's to give herself time to figure out what to say and how to say it, but let’s be real. Kim is fucking terrified. Not of admitting she had feelings for a girl, no. Kim had come to terms with her bisexuality a long time ago.

But… this was Trini. This was the girl that Kim had fought back to back with, had shared countless donuts with. This was the girl who hadn’t judged her, but  _ held _ her when she had broken down crying. This wasn’t just a passing crush and that scared Kim shitless. 

But that had never stopped Kim before.

 

“Guess who?” Kim asks with a smile as she steps behind Trini, her hands coming up to cover the shorter girl’s eyes. 

Trini lets out an unimpressed snort of laughter. “Nice try, K. I heard you humming like halfway down the hall.”

“What are you, tuned to my voice or something?” Kim asks with a raised eyebrow. She drops her hands only to place them on her hips.

Trini blushes at that. She doesn’t try to deny it because she knows she’s caught. The smirk on Kim’s lips when she turns around confirms that. “Did you need something? Or did you just come over here to harass me?”

“Oh, um… yeah.” Kim had rehearsed the words a thousand times, but finds them sticking in her throat now. “I just wanted to ask if you had plans tomorrow night?” That came out like more of a question than Kim meant it to. 

Trini doesn’t seem to notice though. “Not really. I’m like, light years behind on my history project so I should probably work on that.” She frowns for a moment as she thinks about her workload before smiling up at Kim. “Wanna come over and hang out while I pretend to work on it?” 

“I was actually… um…” Kim’s grip tightens over the strap of her bag, threatening to rip it.  _ C’mon, Hart. You fought a 60 foot gold plated monster. You can ask out a pretty girl. _

“I was actually wondering if you wanted to go out tomorrow. With me.” Kim feels herself inhale sharply as if her body was trying to take the words back. Which, unfortunately, is impossible because Kim is sure she’s about to be rejected, possibly laughed at; laughed out of this hall, out of this school, hell, probably out of the damn town and wait- what?

“Like on a date?” Trini says. She can tell that Kim is nervous and that alone should be all the answer she needs, but Trini asks for the clarification anyway. 

And Kim’s smile is totally worth it. “Yeah, like a-” Kim clears her throat not because she needs to, but to give herself a minute to breathe. “Like a date.”

Trini is stunned for a moment because she’s thought about this a million times. She has spent hours thinking about going on a date with Kim, about asking her out, but now Kim is the one doing the asking with an adorably bashful look on her face. It’s almost enough to render Trini speechless. “You’re… You’re serious? You’re not joking?”

The question catches Kim off guard. “What? Of course not.”

Trini's brain is sputtering and stalling because this is kind of impossible to process. “You’re asking me out…”

“Yes, I am asking you out.” Kim replies. There’s a stiffness in her voice and in her body that she can’t seem to shake because she may have gotten the words out, but it doesn’t escape her notice that Trini hasn’t said yes yet. She’s blushing and she’s stuttering, but she hasn’t said yes.

“Why?” Trini asks. It comes out a little bluntly and a little rude, but her brain is moving too quickly for her to articulate what she really means. 

“Because I like you.” Kim answers as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

And maybe it is, not that Trini would know. She’s spent the past few weeks trying so hard  _ not _ to stare at Kim’s ass that she never noticed the looks Kim was giving her. 

It seems like ages before Trini actually answers, “Yes.”

The grin that cracks across Kim’s lips is instant and blinding. “Yes, you’ll go on a date with me?”

Trini can’t help but return the smile. “Yes, I will go on a date with you.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Kim turns to walk away before she realizes that she definitely forgot something. “Oh, is uh- Is seven okay? I’ll pick you up.”

Trini just nods because she doesn’t trust herself to speak, yet again. Her brain is barely getting enough oxygen to function let alone form words and  _ how the fuck did she get so soft? _

Oh yeah. Kimberly  _ fucking _ Hart.

 

*****

 

Sitting through detention the next morning is torture. In fact, it’s worse than torture. On a normal Saturday Trini would spend the entire time flicking notes back and forth with the rest of the team, along with the occasional nap thrown in. 

Not this time.

This time Trini misses every single note that sails her way. Zack almost dies (first from laughter and then from Trini kicking his chair over) when one hits Trini in the face because she’s too busy pretending not to stare at Kim while pretending to work on her history project.

It doesn’t help that every time she looks up, she catches Kim’s eyes flickering her way. 

As soon as they’re released from detention Trini pulls Zack behind the building. She and Jason recently had a conversation about working on being gentle with other members of the team, but Trini’s not really thinking clearly as she tugs on the collar of Zack’s and dumps him onto the ground. 

Zack knows exactly what this is about. “We gotta stop meeting like this. He says, smirking up from his new position in the grass. 

Trini rolls her eyes. “Stop being stupid. I need your help.” She groans a little. “Again.”

“With?” Zack asks innocently. Rather than make the effort to stand up, he opts to make himself comfortable on the ground, stretching out and resting his hands behind his head. He tries to stop smiling. Really, he does. But he can’t.

“Have you talked to Kim?”

The smirk grows. “About?”

Trini knows he’s fucking with her. “Jesus… She asked me out! Tonight! And I’m freaking out, Dude!”

“I’m not exactly the relationship expert, T.” Zack says. He feels a little bad. The morphing grid gives them a mild psychic connection and he can feel the almost panicked feeling coming from Trini. Although her pacing back and forth would have clued him in even without the Ranger connection. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I don’t need an expert. I just need…” Trini sputters over the words she looking for but can’t quite seem to form.  “I don’t know! Just help me out!”

While the franticness in Trini’s voice is amusing, Zack isn’t cruel. “Alright, alright.” Zack laughs as he pushes himself up from the ground. “Stop wiggin’ out. Let’s go to your  house. I’ll help you get ready.”

“Okay. Good.” Trini tries to hone in her nervous energy, but finds herself just bouncing on the balls of her feet, She looks down and sees her hands are moving as well, fidgeting with the ends of the yellow bracelet Billy made for her. She’s trying her best to be calm, but her traitorous body hasn’t gotten the message, it seems.

She’s pulled from her thoughts by another chuckle from Zack.

The grin on his face is more than annoying. “You know, I never thought I’d get the chance to say this, but you’re borderline adorable when you’re nervous.”

Trini narrows her eyes in a glare. “Say a word about this to Kim and we’re gonna need a new Black Ranger”

 

*****

 

The pair round the corner into Trini’s room and Zack let’s out a shocked gasp. “This is your  _ room _ ?”

Trini squints back at him as she drops her backpack onto the floor. “What’d you expect?”

Zack shrugs. “Don’t know. Maybe a dungeon, or a prison cell, or-”

“Finish that sentence and I tell Jason about the picture you keep in your wallet.”

That shuts him up. 

A moment of silence follows and Trini uses it to flop down on the bed and bury her face in the pillows. She’s normally calm. She’s  _ always _ calm. But right now her brain feels like it’s spinning a thousand miles a minute and she no idea how she’s going to make it through the next few hours let alone the actual  _ date _ . 

“In all seriousness, T” The bed dips by Trini’s feet as Zack sits down. “I don’t know why you’re so nervous. Kimmy is like, super into you.”

Trini takes a few more deep (as deep as she can through the cotton of her pillowcase) breaths and starts to come to her senses. Zack is right (not that she’d ever tell him that). Kim wouldn’t have asked her out if she didn’t like her. Jesus, Kim had said the words ‘Because I like you.’ All Trini has to do was show up, be herself, and tell Kim how she feels.

Easy, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is totally a filler chapter and I'm sorry. This took me so long to write and I am so not happy with it. But I wanted to post something and I wanted to be in a better head space when I write the actual date. Please hang in there with me, guys.
> 
> Anyway, Cheers!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE DATE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing this and then I got distracted by the prompts for Sanvers Week. My bad, y'all.

Kim makes it to Trini’s house in one piece, barely. Her hands are shaking so much that she has to pull over once, twice to calm herself. But the multiple near collisions are totally worth it. The moment Trini steps onto the front porch Kim’s face erupts into a smile that not even Rita could wipe away. 

 

_ This is really happening. _

 

“Can I ask where we’re going?”

 

Kim grins even harder at that. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna tell you.” She steals a glance over to the passenger seat where Trini sits, hands fidgeting in her lap.

 

“I’m not really a fan of surprises.” Trini says. She tries to frown, but she’s finding it hard when Kim has that fucking infectious grin on her face. 

 

Kim finds the nerve to wink at Trini, rewarded by a tint of pink glossing over the other girl’s cheek. “Don’t worry. You’ll like this one.” 

 

_ I hope. _

 

By the time they make it to their destination, past the train tracks, past the mine, deep into the hills on the outskirts of town, Kim’s nerves have returned full force. She puts the car in park with a semi-shaky hand, but when she looks over she sees a frown on Trini’s face. 

 

“You’re not gonna blindfold me, are you?” Trini asks.

 

Kim lets out an easy laugh that eases her nerves a little.  _ A little. _ “I’m not gonna blindfold you.’

 

“Are you kidnapping me?”

 

“Do you want your date surprise or do you want to mock me?”

 

Trini grins at the word  _ date _ . “Both.”

 

Kim just rolls her eyes. “Come on.”

 

It’s a thing of beauty really, what Kim has set up. Trini tries to hold in a gasp when she sees what Kim has done, but Kim’s ranger-powered ears pick it up anyway. There’s twinkle lights in the trees around the clearing Kim leads them to. In the middle sits a blanket and Trini can’t help but notice the three (yes, three) boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. 

 

“You did all this for me?” Trini is having a hard time believing that anyone let alone Kimberly, Pink Ranger and sensitive Bad Girl, would put in this much effort for her. 

 

Kim shrugs. Of course she did. Of course she drove all the way out here right after detention to set this up. Of course she ran, literally _ ran _ to the next town over to get the donuts. This was for Trini, after all. “You're always complaining that you can't see the stars from your house. I thought we could look at them up here.”

 

And it's perfect. The two spend the next hours lying on the blanket, staring up at the sky while Trini points out the constellations and the stories behind them. Kim doesn’t really follow. She doesn’t know much of anything about stars beyond the big dipper so she just nods along around a mouthful of donut, stealing glances at the beautiful girl beside her.

 

“Are you even listening to me?” Trini stops to tease Kim, pausing her story of Andromeda.

 

“Yeah! I was totally listening!” Kim lies. She turns her head to see Trini looking back at her with a smirk that says  _ I do not believe you _ . And she’s right. Kim wasn’t listening. She was too busy watching Trini, her eyes bouncing from Trini lips to the adorably animated fluttering of her hands. Kim had been mesmerized to see the normally stone faced, serious Trini with a look of passion and wonder in her eyes as she described the stars. “I didn’t want to interrupt. You seemed really into the story.”

 

Trini smiles at that. The smile is small and tentative, but it’s there. “I don’t know. Stars are cool, I guess.” She winces because  _ Stars are cool  _ is probably the lamest thing she has ever said, but she’s suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to pour her heart out to the girl lying next to her. To keep herself from saying anything else equally lame and stupid, (like how she sees the stars in Kim’s eyes even though she totally does) Trini stuffs her last bite of donut into her mouth. 

 

Which makes Kim laugh. “You have, um…” She tries to point to a spot of icing that’s clinging to the corner of Trini’s mouth, but Trini can’t seem to find it. “Here, let me.” Kim rolls onto her side and brings her hand up to wipe the icing away. It’s a moment before she realizes how close they are to each other, but when she does…  _ Wow. _ It’s the sports bra moment all over again except this time Kim’s not afraid. And she’s hoping,  _ praying _ that Trini isn’t either.

 

Kim knows it’s cliche, the situation and what she’s about to say, but she can’t help it, not when Trini’s lips are just a breath away from her own. “I really want to kiss you.”

 

Trini’s response is instant and it’s laced with a flirtatious challenge. “Then why don’t you.”

 

Kim surges forward. It’s barely a second before their lips connect and when they do Kim feels a shiver- No, more like a shock run through her body. Trini’s lips are soft and slow, but perfect and better than anything Kim has ever imagined. And it’s over far too quickly for her liking. Kim is slow to open her eyes, but finally does to see Trini looking back at her with curious eyes.

 

“Was that okay?” Kim asks. Her voice is much more timid than she would like. She’s dipping into a moment of fear because  _ What if Trini didn’t feel what I did? _

 

“I was going to ask you the same thing.”

 

“Can I kiss you again?”

 

“Kim, stop asking and just kiss me.”

 

Kim pushes herself forward again, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against Trini’s. Her hands move of their own accord, coming up to cup Trini’s face and pull them even closer. For a moment Kim worries she’s being too forward, doing too much, but then she feels Trini’s lips pulling into a smile against her own. Kim’s eyes don’t need to be open to know exactly what that grin looks like.

 

This kiss is longer and it’s deeper and it leaves both girls breathless. Trini can feel her pulse hammering. She’d be self conscious if she couldn’t hear Kim’s heartbeat doing the same. And she can’t stop looking at Kim’s lips. And her eyes. And she can’t stop thinking about the fact the she’s laying here with Kimberly Ann Hart who for some reason seems to like her enough to kiss her. 

 

“So you really like me, huh?” Trini asks with a smirk. 

 

Kim chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Yes, you dork.” She threads her fingers through Trini’s hair, watching with wide eyes as Trini sighs into her.

 

“Easy, Hart. I have a reputation to uphold.” Trini tries to sound serious, but Kim’s fingertips are scratching against her scalp and her lips are within kissing distance and all of it feels  _ amazing _ . 

 

Kim presses a kiss just to the side of Trini’s lips with a laugh. “Don’t want everyone to know you’re a big softy?” She teases and she pulls Trini flush against her. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

 

“Promise?”

 

“Promise.”

 

Trini lets herself be pulled into another kiss with a groan. This is going to be a long night. And for once Trini couldn’t be happier. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our girls are finally together, but let's throw a wrench into things. That wrench's name is Tommy Oliver.

Sunday mornings aren’t for training. They’re for bonding. Every Sunday the Rangers meet at the train car for breakfast. Every Sunday at 9 am sharp. Except for this Sunday when Trini and Kim show up 45 minutes late, heads bowed sheepishly while they mutter apologies, both sporting poorly hidden hickeys on their necks and chests. 

 

Zack’s holler echoes across the hilltop. “Nice going, Crazy Girl!” The fact that he is immediately pelted with a rock does not stop his laughter. 

 

“Wait, wait, wait…” Jason looks up from his coffee squinting. “So are you guys like, together now?”

 

Kim and Trini exchange glances because they spent all night next to each other, trading kisses and touches, testing the waters after months of pining, but they hadn’t done much talking.The subject of what they were simply hadn’t come up.

 

“I mean…” Kim cocks her head to the side. “I'd like to be. Together.” She smiles before adding, “If you want!” 

 

Trini doesn't hesitate before smiling up at Kim. “Yeah, I want.”

 

“Finally!” Jason yells accompanied by laughter from Zack and Billy. “Zack, you owe me twenty bucks, man.”

 

Kim takes a cup of coffee gratefully from Billy. “Wait, what do you mean ‘finally’?” 

 

Zack pulls out a twenty out of his pocket and begrudgingly passes it to Jason. “We've been waiting for you guys to get together since the day we found the spaceship. We placed bets.”

 

“I didn't.” Billy says raising his hand. “I said we should let you guys take your time.”

 

“Well, thank you,  _ Billy _ .” Trini replies. “For being the only gentleman in this group.”

 

Billy beams. 

 

Kim hums into her coffee. “I don't know, Trin. You're pretty chivalrous yourself.” 

 

Trini fights the erratic thumping in her chest and the blush she feels rising in her cheeks. If this is what dating Kimberly Hart is going to be like Trini might have to look into high blood pressure medication. 

 

******

 

The week drags by, much to Trini's dismay. The school week brings homework and obligations that keep her from spending time with Kim outside of their Ranger duties. Meaning it brings things that keep her from spending time in Kim's bed, which Trini will happily admit is her favorite place. 

 

“Is this seat taken?”

 

Trini is pulled from her thoughts by a voice that she can't place.  “Um… I guess not.” 

 

“You're Trini, right?”

 

Trini looks up, suspicious because no one ever gets her name right on the first try, not even her fellow Rangers. “Yeah. Why?” 

 

“I'm Tommy.” 

 

Green eyes are all Trini sees. Green eyes framed by dark locks and olive skin and forest green sweater that looks vaguely familiar. “Do I know you?”

 

Tommy smiles. The smile is light and friendly and Trini can't help but hate it a little bit. “I just transferred in a couple weeks ago. We have English together.” 

 

Trini thinks hard. “You're the one who wrote the paper on gender stereotypes in literature last week. That was... harsh.”

 

Tommy smiles harder. “Yeah, that was me. Interesting way to introduce myself, I guess. But I like to make it know that I think the concept of gender is a bunch of bullshit.”

 

“What do you mean?” Trini asks, interested even though she'd rather not be. Tommy is ballsy and direct to say the least. 

 

Tommy shrugs. “Gender isn't real. At least not as far as I'm concerned.”

 

“So you’re, what? Genderless?” 

 

Tommy shrugs again. The movement is oddly fluid for such a common gesture. “Genderless. Non-binary. Whatever. Labels are for losers. I just like gender-neutral terms better.” 

 

Part of Trini feels like she shouldn’t be having this conversation, like she should just get up and walk away to find Kim and the others, to put as much distance between herself and this person as possible. But… another part of her feels drawn in by Tommy’s presence. It’s the way Tommy lays themselves bare, confident and unapologetic, but it’s also something else that Trini can’t seem to put words to. The conflicting feelings are unsettling. “Did you come over here for a reason?”

 

“A person’s gotta have friends, right?” Tommy says with a smirk. A smirk that Trini wants to smack right off their stupid face. “You do have friends, don't you?”

 

Trini narrows her eyes. “Of course I have friends.” What kind of asshole… “And a girlfriend.” She adds for no particular reason other than that she can feel herself squirming under Tommy’s emerald fire gaze. 

 

Tommy just tilts their head curiously and chuckles. “Congrats.” They run a hand through their hair, holding Trini's gaze firmly. “Well, I'll let you get back to whatever I interrupted.” They're up and out of their spot before Trini can respond. “See you around, Little One.”

 

Trini let her eyes trail after Tommy. Although she couldn't tear them away if she tried. 

 

“Was that Tommy Oliver?” 

 

Trini jumps in her seat, again. For someone with super powered hearing she is getting snuck up on  _ a lot _ today. “Uh, yeah. You know ‘em?” Trini asks Zack as he plops down across the table from her. 

 

“Dude. Stay away from Tommy.” Zack says. He stuffs a handful of tater tots in his mouth. 

 

Trini snags a couple of the remaining tater tots from Zack's tray and pops one into her mouth. “Why?”

 

Zack shakes his head. “Bad news.” He mumbles, mouth full. “She's been on the community service detail since her family moved here.”

 

“And you know this how?” Trini asks, brow raised. 

 

Zack swallows. “How I know is not that point. I just know she's into some crazy shit and that you should steer clear.” 

 

That doesn't seem fair to Trini. The same could be said about all of them. The same  _ is  _ said about them. She knows there's a line between right and wrong, between being a screw up and being fucked up and maybe Zack's right. Maybe Tommy is on the other side of that line. But Trini can't know for sure. “It’s ‘they’.” Is all Trini mutters in response.

 

“Huh?”

 

“It’s ‘they’. Tommy uses gender-neutral pronouns.”

 

“I’m gonna ignore the burning desire to ask how you know that.” Zack stops chewing for a moment as he regards Trini, sitting small and hunched over in front of him. “Just be careful, T.”

 

Trini starts to respond when she hears Kim’s laughter float across the cafeteria. It’s light and carefree and Trini melts at the sound, picturing the bright smile that is more than likely accompanying the outburst. 

 

And all the sudden the mystery surrounding Tommy doesn’t seem that important anymore.

 

******

 

“Your mom’s gonna freak if she sees you on the roof.”

 

Trini chuckles. She doesn't have to turn around to know it's Kim climbing up into the roof behind her. “Well then, it's a good thing my family is out of town, isn't it?”

 

“So you're all by yourself?” Kim says with a smirk. She drops down next to Trini, leaning over to plant a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek. 

 

Trini smirks back. “Not  _ totally  _ by myself. I was just about to text you to see if you wanted to spend the night.” She leans back in, but let's Kim close the distance. 

 

Trini's been very careful over the last few days to let Kim set the pace for their relationship. Physically, at least. So she doesn't let her hands start to wander until she feels Kim's fingertips brushing against her neck. She deepens the kiss only after she feels Kim press their bodies closer together. Trini's tongue slides over Kim's bottom lip and Kim groans. Trini relishes the sound. She swipes her tongue again and is rewarded by the feeling of Kim’s fingers tightening in her hair, having at some point slipped beneath her beanie, and then-

 

Nothing. 

 

Trini opens her eyes slowly, dazed and confused. But before she can ask what she did, Kim has a reassuring finger pressed to her lips.

 

“You didn't do anything wrong.” Kim says, smiling softly and gently because she knows exactly what Trini is thinking. “But before this goes any further, do you want to tell me why you bolted after school today?”

 

“I didn't bolt.” Trini lies lamely. 

 

“Jason said he saw you literally sprinting away from the building after the final bell.” 

 

Trini growls low under her breath. “Fucking snitch.” She glances sideways at Kim to find soft, expectant eyes. Kim won't push hard, but Trini knows she won't be getting any tonight if she doesn't fess up. “Do you know a kid named Tommy Oliver?”

 

Kim's eyes darken. “Why?”

 

“Yeah, Zack didn't seem to like them either.” Trini says with a sigh. 

 

“Did they say something to you?” Kim questions. She's had limited interactions with Tommy, but if she's learned anything it's that they lack a filter and common decency. 

 

“No, I mean-” Trini tries to word this as delicately as possible, feeling tension rolling off of Kim in waves. “Yes? I just got this weird feeling when they were talking to me, kinda freaked me out.”

 

Breathing through clenched teeth, Kim tries to stay calm. “I'll tell them to stay away from you.”

 

“You don't have to do that.”

 

“I do. I don't want-”

 

“No.” Trini cuts Kim off in a firm voice. “You don't have to because I can take care of myself.” She's not trying to sound angry, but her words cut. 

 

Kim backs down a little. “That's not what I meant. I know you can take care of yourself. But from what I've heard Tommy is-”

 

“Bad news? Isn't that what everyone tells you about me?”

 

Kim deflates completely. “Trin…” The dejected look on Trini's face is enough to put Kim's mind straight. “You are not bad news.”

 

Trini shakes her head. This is not how she wanted this night to go, but this whole thing with Tommy has her mind tumbling. Who the hell is this person that everyone seem to hate so much? And how does Trini not know anything about them?

 

Trini may not know much about Tommy, but she does know that she doesn't want them, this stupid situation to come between her and Kim. “I don't want to fight, okay? Let's just forget about it.”

 

Kim doesn't miss the thinly veiled tone of begging in Trini's voice. “I don't want to fight either.”

 

“Good.” Trini hops to her feet, holding a hand down to Kim with a devilish grin. “Now, You gonna come make out with me in my living room or what?”

 

Heat flushes through Kim's body because the thought of being pinned between Trini's body and the couch is almost too much to handle. “Lead the way.”

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The conversation between Tommy and Trini may seem a bit gratuitous, but it was really important to me that Tommy was introduced as non-binary from the start. Tommy is going to be a really fun (shit-stirring) character. Promise!
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there with me! Cheers!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A second encounter with Tommy Oliver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. I've been going through a lot lately so I apologize that I haven't updated this in a while. 
> 
> But I'm back! 
> 
> I've spent some time plotting and I've got the next few chapters planned out. Y'all are in for a ride.

When Kim wakes up the next morning the bed is cold. She reaches a hand out to feel for Trini, but comes back empty. She’s just about to reach for her phone when she hears the bedroom door ease open.

“Is the princess finally awake?”

“Where’d you go?”

Trini holds up a drink tray and paper bag triumphantly. “Breakfast!”

It takes a minute for Kim to push herself up, but she finally does with a smile. “My hero.”

Trini climbs back into bed, carefully balancing the food and drinks as she slides under the covers. She pulls one of the cups free and hands it to Kim. “One disgustingly sweet latte with way too much whipped cream for you. And a normal coffee for me.”

Kim takes the cup and leans over to kiss Trini on the cheek. “Oh, please. Don’t act like you didn’t steal sips of mine on the way back.”

Thank god the blush on Trini’s cheeks can be blamed on the chilly weather outside. “Whatever.” She mumbles. She ducks her head and busies herself with opening the bag full of donut holes.

As much as she loves teasing Trini, Kim decides to be nice. “Where’s your family, anyway?” She asks, reaching across Trini for a donut hole. If she doesn’t grab some now she may not get any.

“One of my brothers has a tournament. They’ll be back on Monday”

Kim raises an eyebrow in surprise. “And your mom didn’t make you go?”

Trini smirks around a mouthful of donut. “My mom is under the impression that I am failing Trig.”

Now Kim frowns because she knows that’s not true. “What? Don’t you have like the highest grade your class?”

“Yeah, but if I told my mom that she wouldn’t have let me stay home all weekend, now would she?”

Kim laughs, but can’t help but think about how much it bothers her that Trini isn’t close to her family. It bothers her that Trini feels the need to lie to her mom is order to have space to herself. Kim has her own problems with her parents. They argue and Kim feels like they don’t understand her, but she knows it’s nothing compared to the way Trini is simultaneously ostracized and controlled by hers.

“What's wrong?”

Kim looks up to see Trini frowning at her over her cup of coffee. She knows it's useless to lie. “I was just thinking about your family…” She's quick to continue when Trini's frown sinks into a deep scowl. “I know, I know. I just hate how horrible they make you feel.”

“It's not all of them.” Trini offers in a small voice. Even after months with the Rangers, she's still not quite used to people caring about her so openly. “Just my mom, really.”

Not much better. “I know. It's just…You're kind of amazing and I hate that your mom doesn't see that.”

Trini wants to say thank you. She wants to bury herself in Kim's arms and cry because no one ever sides with her over her mom. No one ever takes the time to tell Trini that's she's awesome, that she's worth something. Yeah, the boys give her compliments, but none of them are particularly in touch with their feelings and there's something about the earnestness and honesty in Kim's voice that shakes Trini.

But words have never been Trini's strong suit so she settles for leaning across the bag of donut holes to pull Kim into a kiss that she hopes can say everything for her.

“You know you don't have to put up a front with me, right?” Kim asks when they part, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach that Trini's kiss caused. “You don't have to act like a tough guy. You can just be Trini.”

“I'm super tough.” Trini says with a frown. She shoves another donut hole in her mouth to keep from tearing up. “But thanks.”

“Anytime.” Kim smiles and kisses Trini on the cheek. “Now hurry up and eat. It's almost time to leave.”

******  
They spar for hours that afternoon, only stopping once for lunch and then again when Billy knocks Zack out on accident. Zach swears he's fine when he comes to, but that doesn't stop Billy from spending the next twenty minutes apologizing.

His apology is still rambling on as they dry off at the edge of the cliff.

“Billy.” Zack puts a hand out to stop him. “I'm fine. Really. You can stop apologizing.”

“Right. Sorry- I mean…” Billy does stop but only because he's confused now. How does he apologize for apologizing if he's not supposed to apologize?

Trini starts to laugh but she's interrupted by someone calling her name.

“And here I thought I was the only person who knew about this place.”

Trini turns and immediately wishes she hadn't because standing a few feet back from them is Tommy fucking Oliver. “Uh, hey, Tommy. What's up?”

Tommy flashes a Cheshire Cat grin that makes Trini want to smack them across the face. “What's up is I didn't expect to find you here along with the rest of the breakfast club.”

“Don't be an asshole.” Kim shoots back.

Tommy’s not fazed. “Good afternoon to you too.”

Kim moves to stand directly behind Trini. “What do you want, Tommy?”

“I’m surprised you know who I am, Princess.”

Even without looking behind her, Trini knows that Kim’s jaw is clenched in anger. She decided to speak before Kim says something that she’ll more than likely regret. “Don’t call her that. And really, what do you want?”

Tommy regards the group in front of them for a moment with a curious smirk. Five kids standing at the edge of a cliff, soaking wet, on a Saturday afternoon. Completely normal. Deciding they've had enough, Tommy turns to walk away. “Catch you on Monday, Little One.”

Trini's face is burning as she watches Tommy walk away, but she can't quite pinpoint why. She feels another source of heat behind her and she knows it's Kim.

“Am I the only one who thought that was weird?” Billy asks.

Jason is the first to answer. “No, that was definitely weird. I didn't think we'd ever see anyone else up here.”

Trini drapes her towel over head like a hood, partially because the wind is picking up and she's cold and partially (mostly) because she's trying to see if she can hide underneath it. “Well, that's what I thought too before I met you dorks.” She jokes but Tommy’s presence has left her unsteady. She reaches her hand behind her to Kim who takes it stiffly. “Either way, I'm starving.” She turns around to Kim. “Lunch?” The question is punctuated with a smile that Trini hopes masks her uneasiness.

Kim softens and nods. “Not donuts. Actual lunch.”

Trini smiles as Kim kisses her cheek. And just like that she's forgotten about Tommy again. Kimberly Hart’s lips have a habit of making you forget a lot of things, your own name included.

It's not until later that night when Trini and Kim are walking back to the house when Trini starts to feel the feeling of unsteadiness creep back into her body. At first she looks to Kim, thinking something is wrong. The Rangers are all psychically connected to a certain extent, but Trini seems to feel the others emotions the most acutely. But Kim seems fine. She's rambling on about some new medical procedure she read about online and is completely outside Trini’ realm of understanding , but she's fine. Trini moves to pull her phone out of her pocket to text the boys, to make sure they're okay when a green hoodie catches her eye. She can barely see it. It's across the street, partially hidden behind a telephone pole and a truck, but it's there. She's sure it's Tommy. Who else would it be?

“T, are you listening to me?”

Trini's eyes snap up to Kim's. “Um… yes?”

Kim sighs because she knows she's being lied to. She smirks. “I guess I'll have to start over.”

Trini rolls her eyes. It's gonna be a long night.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rangers are called to battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things about this chapter. 
> 
> 1\. I did not edit this for spelling mistakes so I apologize for all the ones I'm sure you will see.
> 
> 2\. My writing is normally very dialogue-heavy. This chapter is NOT. For that reason it was very difficult for me to write. Please let me know what you think. 
> 
> 3\. This chapter and the next couple after this are going to include a original villain! Meaning its not something from any PR canon (that I know of), but something that I thought up all by my lonesome. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Biology is boring. At least, to Trini it is. Kim seems to love it and at the moment Trini is just trying to figure out how Kim managed to convince her to join her in the front row instead of Trini’s customary seat in the back. All it had taken was a pout and a fluttering of Kim’s eyelashes, really. Trini almost regrets saying yes. 

 

Trini’s pen swirls lazily across the page of her notebook, not really doodling, just making random designs with the ink. She is beyond bored. Until an explosion rocks through the building, shaking the ground and knocking books from the shelves. As the shockwave settles, panic seems to climb as students rise from their desks and flood into the halls under instruction from equally shaken teachers. 

 

Kim’s hand finds Trini’s as they’re ushered from the classroom into the hallway. They jostle against the hundreds of other students being evacuated out of the building. Trini’s phone vibrates in her pocket with a text message.

 

**Jason ‘Dad’ Scott:**

Science lab NOW

 

It takes a while for them to work their way through the throng of panicked students and teachers, but the girls finally manage to duck into the abandoned classroom. 

 

Kim holds tight to Trini’s hand. Her mind knows that they’re prepared for whatever is happening, more prepared than they were when they faced Rita, but that doesn’t stop her from worrying. “Okay,  _ what  _ is going on?”

 

“My teacher said that was probably an earthquake.” Billy frowns and shakes his head. “I know the difference between an earthquake and an explosion and that was definitely not an earthquake.”

 

The entire group turns and looks to Jason expectantly. They’ve know this moment would come. Their battle with Rita wasn’t an isolated event. They’d known there would be other fights. It’s what they’ve been training for. To protect this town. Kim has a brief thought that she just wishes they knew what they were heading toward. 

 

Jason squares his shoulders in decision. “We don’t have time to go back for the zords. We should just go and see who needs out help.” Jason grins. “You guys know what time it is?”

 

They groan in unison, but Zack is the loudest. “Dude, don’t say it.” 

 

“I’m gonna say it.”

 

Trini rolls her eyes. “Please don’t.”

 

Jason’s grin widens as he chuckles. “It’s morphin’ time.”

 

They all groan again as Billy claps a hand over his face. “Jason, even I know that was bad.”

 

******

 

The Rangers follow sirens and smoke toward the waterfront, where the boardwalk turns into the fishing docks. Kim knows she should be nervous, but instead she skin is vibrating in excitement. But it’s chaos. Fire trucks, ambulances, and police cars have swarmed the docks. Debris is scattered across the ground; wood, plaster, and glass from the damaged boats and buildings. There’s too much going on to see where the actual explosion came from. 

 

Before anyone can ask what the plan is Jason is off like a bullet toward the boats. No one tries to stop him. They know where he’s going. His dad’s boat is dock near here. 

 

The rest if them fan out, mixing in with the rescue crews pulling the last few people from the water. Kim never strays far from Trini, making sure the yellow glint of her suit is always in her line of sight. At one point she looks up to see Trini hugging a little girl that looks like a mini-Trini. Chaos or not, Kim can’t help but smile. 

 

Then the ground starts to rumble. It’s low and deep, not sudden and sharp the way the explosion was. Kim whips her head around, mentally mapping out where her teammates are, where Trini is. 

 

The sound of something giving way cracks across the docks. Kim can’t tell if it’s a building and she prays it’s not the wood beneath them, but her question is answered when the water just out from the docks, like it’s about a sinkhole, rushes downward, pulling the remains of a shattered boat with it. The water continues to spiral down, a small whirlpool forming. 

 

Kim is still staring, mouth open in disbelief, when a massive, black sphere pulls itself up from the vortex of water and foam with such a force that it hovers for a moment before crashing back down, shaking the boards of the down with the impact. She vaguely registers Jason calling to them as she sprints toward the edge. She feels, more than sees the other line up next to her, yellow and black to her right, red and blue to her left, as they form a barrier between the rest of the people and whatever just came out of the water. 

 

Kim as seen a lot, more than she ever thought she would. She’s seen Rita and her brutish monsters and all of the things Zordon has showed them in an effort to prepare them and make them better Rangers. But what Kim sees when the front of the sphere slides open is unlike any of that.

 

Rows of…

 

“Are those fucking robots?” Trini asks even though all five of them are looking at the same thing and that  _ thing _ is definitely a unit of… well, robots. Machines at least. Or seven foot tall super soldiers. It’s hard to tell at this distance. 

 

“Don’t move unless that do.” Jason orders.

 

Kim tenses anyway. She has no idea what’s about to happen and she’ll be damned if she’s caught off guard. She steals a glance at Trini who’s barely keeping herself under control, all her energy coiled and ready to snap at the first opportunity. 

 

There’s a moment of pure and terrifying calm. No one moves. No one breathes. The air is perfectly still. Then suddenly and slowly, the machines advance forward from the shadow of the sphere. Their feet touch the water, but they don’t sink. In unison the Rangers crouch, readying themselves for whatever might come next. 

 

The metal of the machines scrapes as they step onto the docks, toe to toe with the Rangers. Kim can see them clearly now, but she almost wishes she doesn’t. If they looked big before, these things look positively gigantic now. Kim is sure they’re robots. They’re plated with something that looks metallic yet unfamiliar and if she focus her hearing Kim can hear the mechanical whirring inside their chest plates. Definitely not human.

 

The machines, all eight of them, raise their arms and fire, searing metallic darts shooting from an opening at their wrists. 

 

The Rangers don’t need to be told, don’t need an order to know that now if the time to move. They lunge forward, darts clanging off their helmets as their line collides with that of the soldiers. Kim’s first punch lands, but does little damage. These guys won’t go down as easily as Rita’s putties did. Which is unfortunate because Kim notes that they are definitely outnumbered. 

  
  


Her heel connects with the machine’s side and Kim feels it give beneath her. A weak spot. Exactly what she was hoping for. “Guys!” She calls. “Aim for the gut! Or like, the side of it.”

 

Zack scoffs. “Real specific, Pink!”

 

“Hey! A little help here!” 

 

Kim spins around, narrowly avoiding the low swinging arm of the machine she had been fighting, to find Trini stuck between two of them, he height putting at the disadvantage. “Zack!”

 

Kim grabs Trini’s arm and yanks her out of the way as Zack bowls into the pair of machines, knocking them together. They hit the ground hard, but it’s only a moment before they’re getting back in their feet. 

 

Trini spins and drops her heel into the stomach of one with as much force as she can muster. The metal crunches loudly. Another harsh kick to the side of its head renders the machine useless, faint sparks coming from the new hole Trini kick into its head. Kim and Zack follow suit on the second machine. 

 

“T, you okay?” Kim asks. She can’t see Trini’s face, but she can feel the scowl on her girlfriend’s face. “Maybe the shortest Ranger shouldn’t take on two seven foot robots.”

 

“I can handle a couple Cybermen.” Trini shoots back. She sidesteps to avoid a round of darts that wiz by her helmet. 

 

Kim turns and throws her elbow back into the head of a machine coming up behind her. “What the hell is a Cyberman?” 

 

Trini chuckles and ducks a heavy metal fist coming her way. She shoots Kim a grin even though she knows it can’t be seen through the screen covering her face. “We are so watching Doctor Who after this.”

 

Their banter is cut short by Jason shouting for help. Kim really wishes they’d had time to get the zords. This would be going much faster. But one by one the machines fall. Things are going well. As well as a battle against super strong, metal plated humanoids can, at least.

 

Until Kim hears Trini scream. Not yell. Not shout.  _ Scream _ . She turns, her eyes frantically searching for any hint of yellow. She catches a glimpse of Trini’s suit as it disappears from sight into the water. Billy and Jason converge on the guilty machine. It’s the last one standing, but it’s not standing for very long. Kim races to the edge of the dock, but is confused when she’s sees another hand reaching down into the water for Trini. It’s not Zack. It’s not a Ranger. Kim’s eyes follow the arm up and honestly, she’s had enough surprises for one day. 

 

“Tommy?”

 

Tommy doesn’t respond. Instead they just reach down, grabbing one of Trini’s arms while Kim grabs the other. Together the two hoist the yellow ranger out of the water and up onto the dock. 

 

Kim runs her hands over Trini’s suit, feeling for breaks or cracks. She doesn’t feel anything out of the ordinary, but that doesn’t do much to soothe the panic she feels churning in her stomach. She’s about to call out Trini’s name when she remembers who else is there. 

 

Except they’re...not . Kim looks up and Tommy is gone. Like they were never there in the first place. 

 

“Trini?” Kim laces her fingers with Trini’s, her stomach tightening when Trini’s hand stays limp against her own. 

 

“Let’s get her back to the ship.” Jason’s shadow falls over them. He nods to Zack and Billy who bend down to pick Trini up. “All those things are down. The cops can handle things from here.”

 

Kim tries to help carry Trini. She wants to. But her hands are shaking and her knees are trembling. She can only trail behind and hope that Alpha and Zordon will know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, please let me know what you guys think of this chapter. I really value and love your guys' feedback. And while the next few chapters have been planned out I am always open to suggestions for things you guys would like to see happen in this story. Or even any one shots you guys would like to read. 
> 
> Cheers!
> 
> Tumblr: cfo-absolute


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the attack on Angel Grove, Trini's fine... but is Kim?

Trini wakes up and her head is throbbing. Not the soft dull pang you get when you accidently knock your head against something, but the deep pulsing you feel when you wake up after drinking well past when you should have been cut off. The air around her is cold, but not fresh and although it’s dark, Trini still finds it difficult to open her eyes. They feel heavy, like she might still be asleep. But she’s not. The pain radiating from her skull to the rest of her body confirms that.

 

“Trini?” A soft voice murmurs in her ear. 

 

“Kim?” Trini’s voice scratches in her throat like she hasn’t spoken for hours. “What happened?”

 

Kim runs a hand over Trini’s forehead, gently pushing the hair that’s fallen over her eyes away. She lets out a heavy breath she didn’t remember holding. “Hey. How do you feel?”

 

Trini frowns. “Like shit. What happened?” She repeats before adding, “And where am I?”

 

“You’re on the ship.” Kim answers. Trini tries to focus her eyes on Kim’s face. The pain makes it hard, but Trini is fairly certain she sees tear tracks on Kim’s cheeks. “We brought you here after we pulled you out of the water.”

 

Trini tries to sit up. She grunts in effort and a fair amount of pain. It’s only with Kim’s hands supporting her that Trini is finally able to sit all the way up. “Water? What are you talking about?”

 

“You don’t remember?” Kim’s brows knit together in concern. “When we were fighting those, those robot things. One of them kicked you off the dock into the water.” 

 

Trini thinks hard. She remembers going down to the docks, the sphere, the Whovian machines, but she does not remember being in the water. “I don't, um…” She shakes her head. “No, I don't remember.” It’s frustrating because she knows there should be something there, but her mind is just blank. “You pulled me out?”

 

Kim nods. “Trin, I was so scared when I saw you go over the edge.”

 

Trini smiles sadly. “Yeah, well, it’s gonna take a lot more than a kick to the solar plexus by a giant robot to get rid of me.” She says, one hand hovering over what she can only imagine is a broken rib. Maybe two. 

 

******

“Why didn’t you tell Trini that Tommy helped pull her out of the water?” Jason asks the next morning.

 

Kim sighs and slams her locker shut a little harder than she needs to. The metal buckles slightly. “She didn’t need to know.”

 

Jason frowns. “Says who?”

 

Kim sighs again, clenching her jaw. “We don’t know why Tommy was there.”

 

“The waterfront is a pretty popular place, Kim.” Jason says with a shrug.

 

“Not during an alien attack!” Kim barely succeeds in keeping her voice below a shout. She looks around quickly to make sure she hasn’t drawn any attention from people passing in the hallway. “Look, as soon as that sphere thing popped out of the water everyone bolted. Even the cops. But Tommy just happens to be there at the exact right time to help me pull Trini out? Am I supposed to think that’s a coincidence?”

 

Kim turns and stalks down the hall, leaving Jason jogging to catch up with her. “Kim, wait. I’m not saying you should go give Tommy a hug. I’m just saying it’s not like you to lie to your girlfriend, to any of us.”

 

Not wanting to continue the conversation, Kim mutters a goodbye and ducks into the bathroom. 

“Fuck.”

 

Tommy is standing at the sink washing their hands. 

 

“You have a real knack for showing up where you’re not wanted, Oliver.” Kim swings her bag off her shoulder and starts digging through it. She’s not looking for anything in particular except a reason not to make eye contact with Tommy. 

 

Grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser, Tommy snorts. “Besides the fact that I was here first… I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I do love unprovoked verbal harassment.”

 

Kim settles for reapplying her lip gloss while avoiding Tommy’s gaze. “I’m not… Sorry. Whatever.”

 

Tommy tosses the paper towel into the trash can and grabs their bag from the floor. “Did I do something to you that I don’t remember? Because it kinda seems like you hate me.”

 

“I just don’t trust you.” Kim wipes away a bit of gloss that smeared outside her lip line before tossing the tube back into her bag.

 

Tommy leans against the sink, watching Kim with dark eyes. “Because?”

 

Kim tugs on the zipper hard enough that the tag threatens to come off. “I don’t trust anyone who’s on the community service detail because they beat a kid.”

 

Tommy’s stomach drops. They should have known they wouldn’t be able to leave everything that happened behind them. It was supposed to be a fresh start, moving back to the small town they were born in, but it’s no surprise that everyone in Angel Grove has been nothing but judgemental. “You don’t know anything about that.”

 

Kim finally turns to face Tommy. “I know the kid you attacked was in the hospital for like three weeks.”

 

“And I know you punched a guy’s tooth out.”

 

“They put it back.” Kim cringes at her automatic response.

 

“That’s my point.” Tommy says, shoving their hands into the pockets of their jacket. “I don’t know your whole story and you sure as hell don’t know mine.”

 

Part of Kim knows she’s being petty and judgmental, but there is something about Tommy that just does not sit right. “Just stay away from me and my friends, okay?”

 

The hurt and anger on Tommy’s face is obvious. “You mean Trini, right? Stay away from Trini?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Tommy’s chest puffs out at the challenge. “And if I don’t?”

 

Kim’s body is moving forward before her brain registers what she’s doing. She shoves Tommy against the wall. In her blind rage she barely registers the tiles cracking under Tommy’s back. Her nails cut through the fistful of Tommy’s jacket in her hands, but she can’t feel anything besides the blood drumming in her ears. Until she hears another voice cut through it.

 

“Kim!”

 

Kim drops her hands and spins around to see Trini staring at her with wide eyes. 

 

Tommy brushes off their jacket and nods to Trini. “Good timing, Little One.” They turn to Kim with cold eyes. “Let me know if you want to finish this sometime.”

 

Trini waits for Tommy to walk out the before she speaks. “Kim, what the hell?” Her eyes land of the cracks spidering across the bathroom wall where Tommy had landed. “I’m pretty sure bathroom brawls fall under using our powers for personal gain. You could have seriously hurt them.”

 

“I’m sure Tommy is fine.” Kim tries to walk out, but a hand on her chest stops her. “I just don’t trust them, okay? And I don’t get why you’re defending them.”

 

Trini recoils back like Kim’s words are physically pushing between them. “I’m not defending Tommy. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on with you.”

 

Kim doesn’t respond right away but the silence is broken by the bell signaling the start of the day. “I gotta get to class. I’ll see you at lunch.” She pauses just long enough to drop a kiss on Trini’s cheek before walking out into the hall.

 

******

 

By the time training rolls around that afternoon Kim has calmed down, mostly, and with the exception of an awkward lunch where Trini barely spoke to her, the rest of the day passes without incident. And without any sightings of Tommy. Kim hopes that Trini hasn’t said anything to the rest of the group about her… outburst. But that is not the case. 

 

The tension is obvious as soon as Kim walks into the pit. 

 

“I assume you all know about earlier.” Kim says, throwing her bag into the corner with everyone else’s.

 

“Yeah, um…” Jason scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “Trini told us what happened.”

 

Kim’s eyes flick to Trini in irritation. 

 

But Trini just sighs. “Don’t give me that look, Kim. I’m worried about you. This isn’t like you.”

 

“I don’t trust Tommy.” Kim says, trying not to feel betrayed. She’d assumed Trini would tell the other, but she hadn’t expected the conversation to feel so much like an intervention. “I don’t trust them. No one here does. Except you.”

 

“I mean, I think we should give Tommy the benefit of the doubt.” Billy interjects. “They haven’t done anything wrong. Not to us at least.”

 

“I’m just-” Kim holds her breath and her tongue. She knows that Jason and Zack agree with her, but Trini… God, Trini is looking at her like she’s a monster, like she’s out of control. Maybe she is. “If I promise to never go near Tommy again, can we please drop this?”

 

Jason is the only one who nods. “Let’s just get to training, okay? Everyone morph and pair up.”

 

But they all quickly realize… _ They can’t morph. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Give. Me. Your. Thoughts!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trini tries to talk to Tommy, but something isn't right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... so... I'm back! 
> 
>  
> 
> And in the interest of getting this posted I did little to no editing so I apologize in advance.

Tommy’s been sitting in the grass for a while. It’s well past the time they were supposed to be home, but they couldn’t bring themselves to move. It’s calm up on the hill despite the noise floating up from the football field below. Tommy watches the students run around, trying to focus on anything but their own thoughts. Rolling their neck from side to side, Tommy feels the joints crack. They should be in more pain after the way Kim threw them against the wall the day before, but there’s little more than a dull ache and a hint of a bruise between their shoulders. And there’s the fluctuations in their strength. Tommy thought about talking to their mom about it, but they didn’t really know how to explain the fact that they crushed a door handle with their bare hand. 

 

“Do you always brood by yourself?”

 

Tommy looks up to see Trini standing over them. “Brooding around other people doesn’t really have the same effect, so…”

 

Trini shrugs and drops down onto the grass beside Tommy. She looks over to find Tommy staring at her. “What?”

 

“Won’t your guard dog freak if she sees you with me?” Tommy asks bitterly.

 

Trini cringes. “Don’t call her that. Kim’s just-”

 

“Prone to violent outbursts?” Tommy fill in.”

 

“ _ No _ .” Trini shoots Tommy a glare before she continues. “She’s protective, that’s all. We’ve been through a lot over the past few months. She has trouble trusting people.”

 

Tommy softens as they listen to Trini struggle through her words. They can’t help but feel a little bad. “Yeah, I heard about that alien attack.”

 

“It’s been hard- for everyone, me included.” Trini admits. She’s not sure why she’s volunteering information to Tommy, but she feels bad and there’s some sort of connection there between them. Trini can feel it. She’s just not sure what to make of it. “Every pile of rubble we walk past is just a reminder of that happened.”

 

“I’m sorry.” Tommy says. They can’t think of anything else to say. 

 

“Don’t be.” Trini shrugs. “Look, I just wanted to apologize about yesterday. I know that apology would probably mean more coming from Kim, but she’s stubborn. I hope you won’t hold it against her.” 

 

Trini stands and brushes the dirt from her pants. Tommy’s not jumping to accept her apology. She can’t really blame them, but she expected at least some sort of snappy response. But Tommy only stares up at her with blank eyes. 

 

“Tommy?” Trini leans down and waves a hand in front of Tommy’s glazed over eyes. “Are you listening to me?” Trini is about to reach out to shake Tommy by the shoulder when Tommy all but jumps to their feet.

 

“A Ranger alone is vulnerable.” Tommy’s voice is deep and distorted. “Alone you are weak.”

 

Trini isn’t sure whether to be confused or terrified, but she finds herself leaning toward the latter. She was work through the confusion later. As Tommy stalks toward her Trini decides that now is the time for self defense. She tenses and tries to morph before remember that she hasn’t been able to. None of them have. Not since yesterday. 

 

Tommy’s fist swings out and, even with Trini’s heightened reflexes, she barely has time to move out of the way. “Tommy, what the hell?!” Trini is barely on her feet before Tommy’s other fist is barrelling toward her. A fist collides with Trini’s nose with an unnatural amount of force. “Woah! Hey!” Trini finally gets a shot in, but it glances off Tommy’s cheek. Trini can’t tell if her punch did any damage or not. 

 

“Submit to me, Ranger.” Tommy’s eyes are darker now, black with a green tint. “You cannot win.”

 

“Like hell, I can’t.” Trini lunges forward. She anticipates Tommy’s movements this time and feels her fist connect with Tommy’s ribs. It’s a heavy punch with the full force of Trini’s weight behind it. Trini expects a crack, something to indicate that she’s broken Tommy’s ribs. But Tommy seems… fine. 

 

Trini quickly follows the hit up with a knee to the stomach before pulling away to a safe  distance. “Tommy, please. Listen to me. You don’t want to do this.”

 

Tommy’s body heaves, their chest rising and falling with every breath. “What I want is to destroy you.” Their shoulder drops as they rush toward Trini with murderous intent. 

 

Tommy is moving fast, impossibly fast and Trini knows she won’t have time to move out of the way so she braces herself for the impact, hoping that her feet will stay in the ground. 

 

But the impact never comes. Instead, Trini opens her eyes to see a blur of pink and black connect with Tommy and send them flying into the dirt. It takes Trini a moment to realize that that blur is Kim.

 

“Trini!” Kim runs to Trini’s side. “Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine.” Trini says, even though  her nose is throbbing and she’s pretty sure she’ll have a black eye in the morning. “But Tommy’s-” 

 

Gone.

 

“Where are they?” Trini’s head whips around when she realizes that the spot Tommy had fallen is empty. “Where’s Tommy?”

 

“Trini, what happened?” Kim asks, anger and worry battling in her eyes. 

 

Trini sighs. “You may have been right.”

 

Kim nods slowly. “Okay, in the interest of time I’m going to skip the ‘I told you so’. Let’s call the boys and find Tommy.”

 

******

 

Later, Trini tries to explain what happened, but finds it difficult when she’s not a hundred percent sure herself.

 

“So, they just attacked you?” Jason asks. He’s leaning up against the side of the train car, casting an image of the ever calm, collected leader. 

 

“It was weird.” Trini explains. “One minute we’re just talking and the next they’re swinging at me with this glazed over look. Honestly, if they weren’t talking I wouldn’t have even been sure if they knew what was going on.”

 

“What were they saying?” Jason asks. 

 

But Trini can’t answer before Kim interjects angrily. “And what were you guys even talking about in the first place?”

 

“I was trying to apologize.” Trini says and when Kim doesn’t respond she adds, “For you.”

 

“I didn’t ask you to do that!”

 

“Well, someone had to and I knew it wasn’t gonna be you!” 

 

Jason steps between the girls to end the bickering. “Okay, ladies, enough! I’m less concerned with why Trini was there and more with the fact they Tommy attacked her and then disappeared.   
  


Zach nods in agreement. “And I’m concerned that we’re about to go after someone who got the drop on  _ Trini _ and we can’t morph.”

 

Trini crosses her arms over her chest with a huff. “They didn’t get the drop on me.” She mutters. 

 

Kim rolls her eyes. “Trini, you have a black eye.”

 

There’s a moment of tense silence as Trini debates whether or not to respond. She knows if she does it will most likely not be anything constructive or helpful so she just sighs and, avoiding Kim’s eyes says “Let’s just go find Tommy before they hurt someone else.”

 

Kim starts to go after Trini as she walks away, but is stopped by Zach’s hand on her shoulder. “I’ll go with her.” He says. “Maybe you should go with Jason and Billy.”

 

Kim watches Trini walking down path before she’s ready to admit that Zach might be right. She was upset and angry, but really, deep down, she was worried about Trini. She was worried about what would have happened if she hadn’t walked up that hill looking for Trini after class. “Just… Watch her back, okay?”

  
  



	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team manages to track Tommy down. But something isn't right. Can they find a way to help Tommy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so another more Tommy-centered chapter, but I promise we'll get back to our girls soon enough. Also, I've updated the tags and summary for this story. It's definitely gone a lot further than I expected it to when I originally posted.

By the time they track Tommy down it’s gotten dark. All five Rangers have spread across the waterfront, having narrowed Tommy’s location down to somewhere by the docks thanks to Alpha 5. But the tracking isn’t exact. The sphere floats in the water beside them with an eerie calmness behind a wall of police tape. It’s presence is unsettling. 

 

Zach spots Tommy first. They’re seated at the end of the dock, closest to the sphere with their legs dangling above the water.

 

“Tommy?” Zach calls out to them from a distance, not wanting to approach them alone. He knows the other Rangers have heard him though. He can feel them closing in on him. “Hey, can you hear me?”

 

Tommy speaks without turning around. “Something’s wrong with me.”

 

“Obviously.” Zach feels a sting on his arm as Trini slaps him.

 

“Tommy… Just come with us.” Trini tries. She feels Kim bristling behind her next to Jason’s calm and Billy’s worry. “We can help you.”

 

Tommy turns around at the sound of Trini’s voice. Their eyes widen at the sight of the bruise that’s bloomed across Trini’s eye. “Did I do that to you?”

 

“Yeah, but it’s okay.” Trini doesn’t need a Ranger connection to Tommy to feel the fear and confusion rolling off them in waves. “Do you not remember?”

 

Tommy’s brows screw together as they fight to remember. They remember the final bell and walking up the hill to sit above the football field. They remember Trini coming to apologize and then… nothing. It was as if someone had put up a wall between one moment and the next. There was something there, but Tommy just can’t get to it. 

 

All of the sudden, Tommy was standing, the tension draining from their shoulders. 

 

Trini and Zach both take a step back. “Tommy?” Trini says. But Tommy is staring past them,  _ through _ them with blank eyes. “This is what happened before.” Trini whispers to the others. She and Zach fall back another step as Tommy’s fists clench at their sides, ready to lash out.

 

Jason, Billy, and Kim step up to meet the other two as all five fall into a defensive crouch. But Jason knows they can’t fight Tommy, not out in the open without their suits. “Tommy.” He says, hands out in a peaceful gesture. “Just come with us. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

 

Tommy’s head tilts to the side as they turn their attention toward Jason’s voice. “You could not hurt me.”

 

Trini shivers at the deep, unnatural distortion that’s returned to Tommy’s voice. 

 

“We don’t want to.” Jason takes a slow step to the front of the line, putting himself in between Tommy and his team. 

 

Tommy lunges forward unsteadily and throws a fist out toward Jason. The movement holds none of the solidity of before, but it’s aggressive nonetheless. Jason easily side steps it and holds a hand out to his team, signaling them to wait. “Tommy, you don’t want to do this.”

 

Tommy’s eyes snap to Trini’s, but they’re not glazed over anymore. They’re full of panic. Something about the look sparks a realization in Trini: Tommy has no idea what’s going on. They’ve been hypnotized or mind controlled or  _ something _ , but something is screaming at Trini, telling her that Tommy isn’t responsible for their actions. “Guys, I don’t think they know what’s happening. I don’t think they want to hurt us. Right, Tommy?” Trini hears a sigh behind her that she just knows came from Kim. “I’m serious.” She turns to look Kim in the eye. “Will you please just trust me?”

 

Kim wants to be stubborn, but she can’t deny the bewildered look on Tommy’s face. Or the determined look on Trini’s. Kim realizes that this is the first time she’s really looked at Trini since this whole mess started. Trini’s as worried as she is determined. Part of Kim starts to flare with jealousy, but another, bigger part, the part that’s fallen head over heels for Trini and trusts her with her life… That part seems to grab hold of Kim and shake some sense into her. “I trust you.” 

 

“How can we get them back to the ship without knowing if they’re gonna go berserk?” Zach asks in a low voice. 

 

Tommy looks up with a pained glare. “I can hear you.” 

 

But it’s the last thing they say before they collapse to the ground, unconscious. 

 

******

 

Tommy wakes up on a cold table, their stomach rolling with nausea. They open their eyes only to be met by a bright light and the urge to shut them again. There’s noises, voices around them, but Tommy doesn’t have the energy to process what they’re saying. Why is it so bright?

 

Tommy chances opening their eyes again. It doesn’t hurt as much this time. Their eyes have adjusted enough to take in their surroundings which are… A spaceship? No, that can’t be right. Tommy closes their eyes again and takes a deep breath. They open their eyes again to be met by another pair, wide, round, and metallic. “What the fuck!” Tommy jumps off the table, yelling and vaguely aware that the little metal creature is screaming too. 

 

“Hey! Hey!” Trini runs in at the sound of screaming. “Alpha, get outta here!”

 

Tommy leans back against the table to catch their breath as Trini ushers Alpha 5 out of the small room they’re in. “What the hell is that thing and why do you not seem surprised to see it?” They ask. 

 

“That’s Alpha 5.” Trini says like that explains everything. Really, it just confuses Tommy even more. “He’s harmless. Weird, but harmless.”

 

Tommy nods and looks around the room. Everything is metallic and shimmering. It doesn’t look like anything they’ve ever seen before. “Where am I?”

 

“If I tell you you have to promise not to freak out.”

 

“Well, I promise not to scream again if that counts for anything.” Tommy says because honestly, they feel like they deserve the right to freak out a little bit. 

 

“You’re on a spaceship underneath the mine.”

 

Tommy looks around the room again as they consider what Trini’s just said. “Honestly, that wouldn’t even be the weirdest thing to happen to me lately, so…” 

+

Trini finds herself a just the tiniest bit offended that Tommy seems to take the fact they’re on an actual spaceship so well. “Okay…Uh… The only reason I’m telling you this is because we found this in your pocket.” Trini reaches into the pocket of her own sweatshirt and pulls out the green coin when they brought Tommy onto the ship.

 

Tommy stiffens at the sight of the coin. “You went through my stuff?”

 

“You attacked me.” Trini snaps. “And then you passed out when we confronted you. So, yeah, we went through your stuff. Where’d you find this?”

 

“I don’t remember attacking you.” Tommy offers as an apology. 

 

“I know.” Trini softens and tries to keep herself calm. “But we need to know where you found this coin.”

 

Kim, who’s been listening at the door chooses this moment to make her presence known. Known to Tommy at least because she knows Trini most likely felt her standing outside. 

 

“This the ‘we’ you keep talking about?” Tommy asks, eyeing Kim suspiciously. 

 

Kim, to her credit, tries her best to be as non threatening as possible. “I’m part of it, yeah.” She makes her way into the room, keeping close to the doorway. “And look, I’m sorry about before, about you know, throwing you into a wall. But we really do want to help you.”

 

Tommy supposes that’s the best apology they’re going to get, if Kim’s clenched jaw and tensed shoulders are anything to go by. “I just don’t see what that stupid coin thing has to do with what’s wrong with me.”

 

Kim and Trini share a look that gives Tommy the distinct feeling they should understand despite having only spent about 2 minutes with the couple. With movements that are entirely  _ too _ in sync, Kim and Trini reach into their pockets and produce their own coins, identical to Tommy’s in pink and yellow. 

 

Tommy feels like this should be a significant moment… They’re just not sure why. And the confusion is starting to bleed into irritation. “So, we’ve all got matching coins. So, what?”

 

Kim sighs. “Did you notice anything weird happening to you after you found it?”

 

Tommy thinks back to the day they found the coin. They’d spent the whole day diving off of a cliff near their house and on the very last dive they’d picked up the shiny, green coin, resurfaced, and gone home. The next morning they crushed their dresser drawer handle. Not long after the blackouts started. “I’m stronger than I used to be.” Tommy finally admits. “It just kinda happened overnight. And my reflexes are ridiculously fast. And I can hear like, crazy far.”

 

Trini smiles. “Yeah, us too.”

 

“And I keep getting these migraines and blacking out.” Tommy adds. 

 

The girls’ smiles drop. “Migraines? When did those start?” Kim asks. 

 

“Not too long after I found the coin.” Tommy frowns. “You guys don’t get those too?”

 

Trini’s about to answer, to tell Tommy that- No, none of the other Rangers have migraines or blackouts, when Jason barrels into the room. “Guys, Alpha found something on Tommy’s brain scan.” 

 

“My brain scan?! You guys did a brain scan on me?”

 

Trini doesn’t answer, just grabs Tommy by the hand and tugs then out of the room. 

 

When they enter the control room Tommy stops dead. A spaceship they could handle, but this? Whatever this went way beyond that and it was terrifying. Not to

 

“What’d you find?” Trini pushes through Zach and Billy to see the hologram of the scan that’s up in the center of the room. 

 

“There’s a transmitter embedded in Tommy’s brain.” Billy points to a black spot at the front of the image. “Wherever it came from, it’s capable of overriding conscious thought.”

 

Zach squints at the image. “Meaning?”

 

“Meaning,” Jason steps up next to Billy to take over the explanation. “Whoever’s controlling this is able to take completely control of Tommy’s body.”

 

“All the headaches and the blackouts…” Tommy finally seems to be able to find their voice again, the initial shock of being in the control room having worn off. “Someone’s been hijacking my body?”

 

“Hijacking isn’t really the right word. It’s more like if-“ Jason clears his throat behind Billy, making Billy pause before he tumbles into a rant. “Yeah. You’ve been hijacked.”

 

“So…Can you get it out?” Tommy figures that’s the easiest question in the list of hundreds that are spinning rapidly through their head. “The implant, transmitter, whatever it’s called- How do we get it out?”

 

Billy shrugs. “Brain surgery.”

 

Tommy’s stomach lurches. Brain surgery. Right. Of course. 

  
  



End file.
